The suns not out, the sky’s not blue, there’s loads of
clouds to spoil the view but who gives a shit, I’m warm and dry at the Castle
this morn.
Not posted properly for a while, my one remaining left
handed brain cell seemed to have run out of alphabet and went into standby
mode, but after eating a couple of Findus lasagnes from Tesco my “mind” is
racing I seem to be back on the gallop with the bit between my teef, full of unbridled
enthusiasm and it looks like you are saddled with me for a while.
It seems that the secretary for the environment is to meet representatives from the Food
Standards Agency and meat retailers and suppliers to discuss the horsemeat
scandal.
Owen Paterson said
investigations into how beef products had been contaminated with horsemeat were
ongoing but "the evidence so far suggests... its either criminal activity
or gross negligence".
Tesco, Aldi and
Findus have all had to withdraw food products.
Food minister David
Heath said frozen food should not be discarded, and advised consumers to carry
on eating meat unless told otherwise.
The FSA has asked
UK firms to test all processed beef foods, but said it did not "suspect
there is any health issue with frozen food".
And Mr Heath said
the government's advice was "exactly that" of the FSA.
That’s good because I like horses-roasted, grilled, fried,
minced and especially anti inflamed....
Pot-au-feu de cheval (horse stew)
Take meat of the second class (flank, topside,
collar), place in cold water and cook over a gentle fire, removing the foam and
grease as you bring it to the boil. Add salt, a clove of garlic, caramelised
onion and a colouring of vegetables, such as leek, turnip, celery, cabbage etc.
Leave to cook for seven or eight hours on a moderate fire.
Cheval à la Parisienne
Cook turnips in horse grease; add boiled horsemeat
in thin rashers, with salt and pepper; wet with a little horse bouillon; add
parsley, chives or shallots, and a dash of vinegar.
Num,num, num....
A group of survivalists is inviting people to apply for
places in a walled, medieval-style city it wants to build in the woods of
northern Idaho.
The proposed fortress community, where residents would be
required to own weapons and stand ready to defend the compound if society
collapses, would have room inside for up to 7,000 families.
The citadel's promoter, Christian Kerodin was
convicted in 2004 on federal extortion charges, and on charges that he
illegally possessed a firearm when he posed as a counter-terrorism expert
trying to coerce shopping mall owners to hire him to improve security.
He served 30 months in federal prison.
Apparently the compound's primary goal is defending
"against a grid-down economic collapse scenario".
Residents would be required to stock enough food and water
to last a year.
A 1,200sq ft house in the citadel would cost $686 (£438) a
month, whether it was located within or outside the compound's walls.
Allegedly several hundred people have already paid a $208
(£133) fee to apply to live there.
The on-site gun factory would manufacture semi-automatic
pistols and AR-15-style rifles, the type of weapon used in the December massacre
at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut,
Ah, the old Idaho survivalist I want your money
ploy....
It seems that after many, many years “ladies” will finally
be allowed to wear trousers in “gay” Paris.
A French politician has now decriminalised potentially
thousands of Parisian women by saying that the law is incompatible with modern
French values.
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the minister for women's rights,
said in a statement that while the order had not been taken off the statutes,
it had been made irrelevant by changes in French law.
She said: "This order was aimed, first of all, at
limiting the access of women to certain offices or occupations by preventing
them from dressing in the manner of men.
"This order is incompatible with the principles of
equality between women and men. From that incompatibility stems the implicit
abrogation of the order."
City chiefs had originally issued the order in
1800 forcing women to seek permission from police if they wanted to "dress
like a man".
The order was later amended in 1892 and 1909 to allow women
to wear trousers if they were "holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of
a horse."
Or a burger, lasagne, sausage or any other part of an equus ...
A Japanese railway
company on Friday unveiled a new Shinkansen bullet train featuring an improved
brake system that can reduce the stopping distance to 300-400 meters while
speeding at 270 kilometres per hour.
The Central Japan Railway
Company said the upgraded brake system would enhance safety during emergencies
like earthquakes.
A large number of
railway users witnessed the departure of the company's first upgraded train --
N700A -- from the Tokyo station on Friday morning, Japan's NHK broadcaster
reported.
The new model's top
speed remains at 270 kilometres per hour, but its improved brake system can
reduces its stopping distance from top speed by 300 to 400 meters while the
current model requires three to four kilometres to stop.
The railway has
been focusing on faster speeds to reduce travel time between Tokyo and Osaka,
but the new model instead emphasizes safety in the event of earthquakes or
other contingencies, when stopping time is crucial in avoiding serious
accidents.
The new model's
computer-controlled system also maintains a constant speed regardless of
terrain. The company plans to operate the new train between Osaka and Hakata in
western Japan also from March 16.
Spiffing 167.77 MPH to zero in 437.445319 yards; hope they
have installed airbags....
And finally:
And more than 900,000 pounds Rowan Atkinson’s McLaren F1 is
back on the road, Ben Stagg, specialty insurer with RK Harrison, said the
quality components used to make an F1 are one reason the repair costs were so
high.
All modern supercars are predominantly carbon fibre - most
Lamborghinis, most Ferraris - and the smallest ding in carbon fibre is a big
repair job," he said. "And part of the engine bay is gold, that's the
best heat conductor. It's the materials they used compared to everyday cars
that make it so expensive."
He said many owners baby their expensive cars, driving them
only a few times a year in perfect weather conditions, but Atkinson actually
drives his McLaren extensively.
The unusual repair job, thought to involve one of the
largest car insurance settlements in British history, is extensively documented
in Classic & Sports Car magazine, with a picture of the burgundy McLaren on
the cover.
Atkinson, last seen by many playing piano as Mr. Bean during
the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, told the magazine he believes
supercars should be used, not sequestered in garages.
"It depresses me when great cars are hidden away,"
he said. "It's a crime not to use it."
Funny that, the last motor I had that was damaged had a
crack in the bumper-and was written orf, must be using the wrong insurance
company...
That’s it: I’m
orf to avoid some Elephants
Today’s thought:
one way to cut the cost of funerals
And today’s mellow melody-or neigh as the case may be
Angus
